Deborah Lewis "In a Heartbeat"

This was harder than I first thought. After the satisfaction of participating in the quilt collaboration project, I jumped into this one without thinking how was I going to portray myself so everyone would "know" me? I'm certainly not much at drawing people-unless you count stick people!

I decided on a "snapshot" of me: things I love, care about, and derive great pleasure. The two hearts represent my husband and daughter, who have always supported me in my adventures in glass.

The daisies display my love of flower gardening, while each of the 3 paw prints represent each of my three Labrador retrievers, which oversee all my glass projects. I have always had companion dogs and my life would not be complete without them.

The sunset over the water signifies all the wonderful sunsets my husband and I have shared over the years and especially this past year when we installed our own pond. It's become a wonderful habit to meet each other at the dock just before the sun sets for a few minutes of peace in a busy world.

The shaft of wheat represents our farm life. While it is a "business," farming truly is a way of life; one which I hold dear. The raindrops represent our dependence upon weather. A good rain at the right time can make the difference between a good year and a bad year.

For as long as I can remember I have made things with my hands. I am most content when my hands are busy. I rely on them to take my dreams and ideas into reality. They have served me well.


My project measures 10 by 10.5 inches. It is made in System 96 glass. I added extra details including a handmade twisty for the sunset, pattern bars as segment dividers and (a first for me) powder wafers for the hands. I lined the piece with fiber paper and blocked it with kiln furniture to maintain it’s size and insure all was firmly fused together. The piece was fired flip and fire method to retain crisp lines between segments then the edge sanded and the whole piece sandblasted. Detail pieces were added and fused again to a slightly contour fuse to maintain a little dimension to the details.

I am fairly satisfied with the piece. I wish I had made it bigger so I could have added more items. I attempted to make room for them but it began looking cluttered, so I decided to keep just a few special things. This represents one moment in my life, one heart beat.